Every Day Life
by S.E. Ripley
Summary: Same universe as "the gift" but stands alone. Reid and Luke help Faith to celebrate her college graduation.


**For Demesha =]

* * *

**

"Stop fussing, you're making it worse," Luke grumbled with a smile, his hands tugging at the collar of Reid's shirt. Reid pouted like a child, frowning at Luke with obvious discomfort.

"I don't understand why we have to dress up," he complained, again.

"Because it's Faith's graduation party, that's why," said Luke. Reid groaned. "Hey, it's not every day my little sister graduates from college," said Luke persistently, now working to adjust Reid's tie.

"Ties at the actual graduation, fine, I put up with that, but why do we have to wear ties at the party, too?"

Luke finished with Reid's tie and smirked, his hands resting easily on Reid's shoulders. "Because Grandmother wants it to be a formal party. You can ditch the tie later when we go to the after party," Luke laughed, lazily placing a kiss on Reid's stubborn lips. Reid groaned again and Luke just rolled his eyes, walking away.

Adjusting his own tie, Luke watched in the mirror as Reid messed with his perfect collar again. He just laughed. Reid really had a thing against dressing up, but somehow that made formal occasions all the more fun for Luke.

"You're a sadist, you know that?" Reid called in a low voice.

"It's not like I asked Grandmother to throw this party, or to install a dress code," Luke pointed out with a chuckle.

"Sure you didn't," frowned Reid, standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "Hurry up, we're going to be late."

Luke just shook his head as his boyfriend childishly stalked out of the room before grabbing his keys and followed him into the living room.

They were no longer living in Katie's old apartment. Luke had moved in for about a year before they finally got a place of their own, a small condo just outside of town, allowing them to be set aside from the rest of Oakdale, including their relatives, friends and in-laws, without being completely separated. They were coming on two years now in this place they called their home and neither could be happier.

"Behave, Doogie," said Luke to the brown dog curled up in his bed beside the couch. Doogie started wagging his tale at the mention of his name but he didn't get up, knowing that Luke and Reid were leaving. Reid was waiting by the door, his jacket over his arm and still looking unhappy about the formal wear, but when Luke approached him he did manage to smile.

"Ready?" he asked, and Luke nodded. They shared a brief kiss before stepping out onto the small porch, closing the door behind them.

As expected of any event hosted by Lucinda Walsh, Faith's graduation party was truly spectacular. The food was phenomenal and everyone who was anyone was in attendance. Luke was fairly certain that he knew more people there than Faith did, but he had a feeling that Faith didn't mind, especially as the card box continued to fill with cards no doubt containing cash and checks in her name.

"I'm so glad you guys are here, mom is going to suffocate me," the twenty-one year old sighed, standing beside her brother. Luke smiled at Faith, shaking his head.

"I think she's just ecstatic that one of her kids finally graduated," he suggested with a coy grin. Reid nudged him in the arm. Faith just shrugged.

"Maybe. But she acts like I'm going to disappear after tonight. I was in New York for the better part of four years, and she waits until I move back to freak out?"

Reid laughed at this. "You can't honestly be surprised by your mother's unorthodox reactions," he commented. Luke kicked him lightly. "No offense," he added with a shrug of his own, taking another sip of his drink. Faith seemed amused.

"True," she agreed.

The three continued to chat idly. Luke had to admit, college had been wonderful for Faith. The once troublesome teenager had grown up a lot and even Reid found her to be agreeable most days. She had followed in her brother's footsteps and pursued Creative Writing, attending NYU and graduating with Honors. He had never felt so proud as when he watched her cross that stage and receive her diploma. The entire family, including Reid, had flown out for the occasion. Honestly, it was because of Faith and always hearing about her classes and reading her stories, that Luke was writing again himself. He had taken some creative writing courses, though not for credit, through Oakdale U, which had helped him to improve. While his career was still with the foundation as well as with Grimaldi Shipping, writing was still his passion. He'd had a few short stories published in local papers and journals, even though he no longer planned to pursue it professional. Faith, however, was just as talented, if not more so, than he was, and he had only high hopes for her.

"Not that I don't love having you back in Oakdale, Faith, but just promise me that you won't stay too long, and I mean that in a good way," he added with a laugh after she gave him a look. "I know you loved New York, so take some time here, enjoy being home, but then maybe you should go back, jump into your writing."

Faith smiled and nodded. "That's kind of what I was thinking, actually. Just don't tell mom. If she had it her way I'd be stuck here forever," she sighed.

Reid gave a fake shudder. "Talk about a nightmare," he commented drolly. Luke turned to him with a smirk and Faith laughed.

"It's not as bad for you two, at least you have interesting jobs here, and you have each other," Faith pointed out. Luke turned a little red. Reid rolled his eyes.

"Why are you Snyders so damn sentimental?" he asked. The siblings just laughed and moved on.

The evening progressed and by seven o'clock the guests finally began to filter out. By eight, Faith was at the farm house changing into a more party-suitable dress. They'd decorated out back near the stables and were having a much more casual, or as Faith put it, _real_ party. Faith's rule was that no one over 30 was allowed, except for Reid of course.

"Oh goody," he'd said with pursed lips at the invite a few weeks back. "Just what I need, to be the unofficial babysitter for a bunch of college brats."

It turned out to be more fun than he expected, though. Regardless of Faith's 'rule', there were plenty of other adults there. The majority were young twenty-somethings, mostly Faith's friends, including Parker, Gabriel, and Liberty. Luke smiled to see them all talking together, happy for his sister that she and her friends had remained close despite the distance.

Luke and Reid spent most of the evening talking with Holden, Aaron and Jack. Reid was fairly close with the other Snyder men by now and so conversing with them was almost second nature. When he'd first started dating Luke he'd felt so damn old, especially whenever he'd be around Luke and his friends. While it was strange to think that he was closer in age to Luke's father and uncle than to Luke himself, Reid had eventually gotten over it and was able to just enjoy the company of the other men. Without it being said, Reid had in every way that counts become an honorary Snyder and was always welcomed. As they left the party, Reid driving and Luke nodding off in the passenger seat beside him, Reid smiled to himself. It had been a long time since he'd felt like a part of something, especially like a part of a family, but the past three year with Luke had given him just that. While stopped at a red light he reached over and took Luke's hand. The blond looked up at him with tired eyes, and as Reid kissed his finger tips, Luke just smiled, curling up in his seat and drifting into a light sleep again.

They got home just before two a.m. They stopped only to drop their jackets and ties that they hadn't worn in hours on the couch before stumbling into the bedroom. Reid flipped on the light, amused by the groan of protest from Luke. Doogie was curled up in their bed and Reid laughed and shooed him away, chasing him out into the living room. Luke changed into pajamas, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt no doubt stolen from Reid, though they shared so many shirts by now it was hard to tell.

Reid came back in, drinking a glass of water, to find Luke already laying on his back on top of the covers, an arm sprawled over his eyes. He just smiled and got dressed himself, wearing flannel pants and no shirt as always. He pushed Luke aside a little, ignoring the unhappy noises he was making and laughing a little when he caught Luke grinning.

"C'mon, move over," he grinned, tugging back the blanket and the sheets. He pushed the comforter to the foot of the bed and draped only the sheet over Luke. It was a warm June night and he knew that was all they would need. He turned off the light and walked around to his side of the bed, slipping in beside Luke and pulling the covers loosely over top of him. Luke was already drifting into sleep so Reid just moved close, wrapping his arms around Luke just as he did every night and holding the younger man close. His fingers lightly grazed over Luke's side, purposely hitting a ticklish spot. Luke squirmed, making Reid laugh in a low voice in Luke's ear.

"You're a jerk," Luke muttered, though Reid could hear the smile in his voice.

"And you're a brat," Reid replied. Luke just shook his head and snuggled closer. Reid rest his head against Luke's shoulder, kissing his neck tenderly before closing his eyes.


End file.
